K'nataka: SC to hear plea against pro-tem speaker's appointment tomorrow at 10:30 am

Cong-JDS writ petition challenging the appointment of BJP MLA KG Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker of Karnataka Assembly was filed in Supreme Court at night on Friday.

New Delhi: The Congress today took strong objection to the appointment of BJP MLA K G Bopaiah as the pro-tem speaker ahead of the floor test in Karnataka assembly. The protesting Congress men knocked the doors of Supreme Court for urgent hearing over the appointment of pro-tem speaker. As per ANI reports, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Congress's plea on Saturday at 10:30 am.

Supreme Court to hear Congress's plea regarding the appointment of pro tem speaker of BJP MLA tomorrow at 10:30am. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/ctAoL0ic9R

— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2018

Cong-JDS writ petition challenging the appointment of MLA KG Bopaiah as pro-tem Speaker was filed in Supreme Court on Friday night. The petition claims that the appointment of pro-tem speaker was completely unconstitutional', ANI tweeted.

Congress-JDS writ petition challenging the appointment of MLA KG Bopaiah as pro-tem Speaker has been filed in Supreme Court. The petition claims that the appointment of pro-tem speaker was completely unconstitutional: Devdutt Kamat, lawyer for the Congress

— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2018

Lawyers representing Congress side reached the Registrar Office of Supreme Court at night seeking an urgent hearing on Bopaiah's appointment.

Lawyers representing Congress side reach the Registrar Office of Supreme Court, seeking an urgent hearing on the appointment of KG Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker of Karnataka assembly. pic.twitter.com/YR55gYQqnD

— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2018

Raising questions over Vala's move, Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the Governor should have had appointed the senior most MLA from the current assembly as the pro-tem speaker as per constitutional conventions. According to the Congress, its eight-time MLA R V Deshpande is the senior most lawmaker in the assembly. Surjewala said it was utmost important to follow this practice at a time when the BJP and Vala had hijacked and encountered democracy in the state and were conspiring to forcibly form a government led by B S Yeddyurappa in the state. Ahead of the floor test tomorrow in Karnataka Vidhan Sabha, the Congress MLAs who were lodged in Taj Hotel in Hyderabad, left for Bengaluru at late hours of Friday night. The Supreme Court today ordered a floor test in the Karnataka Assembly at 4 PM tomorrow, drastically slashing the 15-day window given by the Governor to BJP Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to prove majority. The BJP has emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, followed by the Congress with 78, JD(S) with 37 and three seats have gone to others in the 224-member Assembly where elections were held for 222 seats. The majority mark is 112 seats and the post-poll alliance strength of the Congress-JD(S) combine, which claims to have 117 MLAs, has alleged foul play in the Governor inviting BJP to form the government. (With agency inputs)